In this letter, { 286 } read in Congress on 20 Sept., John Adams provided newspaper accounts of the Swedish
admiralty's ordinance declaring its determination to provide convoys for Swedish ships;
the text of the British reply to Catherine II regarding her declaration of an armed
neutrality; and Maj. Gen. Sir William Fawcett's efforts to raise troops in Ansbach
and Hanau (see to James Warren, 18 March, note 2; and from Edmund Jenings, 18 March, note 7, both above). The British response to Russia denied any past violations of the established
law of nations and promised to adhere to its dictates in the future. John Adams noted
that while the British statement was somewhat conciliatory, it did not address the
fundamental issue of whether Britain intended to establish real or only paper blockades.
Adams believed that, if Britain was forced to accept the Russian interpretation of
a blockade, it would put “an End forever, to the naval Superiority of G. Britain.”

To the President of Congress, No. 61

The letter, read in Congress on 20 Sept., opens with the text of a resolution by the
States General of Holland and West Friesland protesting the seizure of goods, particularly
ship building materials from Adm. Lodewijk van Bylandt's convoy in violation of the
existing Anglo-Dutch treaties, and demanding convoys to enforce the provisions of
the treaties. Next Adams inserted the text of a resolution of the States General intended
to insure that foreign vessels trading with the Dutch West Indies paid the required
duties to the Dutch West India Company and transported goods from the Indies solely
to ports in the Netherlands. He then included similar resolutions from the provinces
of Gelderland, Zeeland, and Friesland, which strongly supported Catherine II's declaration
of an armed neutrality. Adams closed by reporting talk in Holland of setting up an
embargo, and rumors that Britain was trying to get the Emperor to open the port of
Antwerp.

In this letter, read in Congress on 20 Sept., John Adams communicated the Spanish
declaration regarding its conduct toward neutral vessels that was dated 10 March and
issued on 13 March. Much of the declaration was devoted to the actions to be taken
by Spain toward neutral vessels passing through the Straits of Gibraltar, as part
of its effort to blockade the British fortress there, but the text also set down its
policy toward neutrals in the rest of the world. The declaration appeared to conform
to principles set down in the Russian declaration of an armed neutrality and Adams
prefaced his rendering of the text with the statement that “at the same time, that
the Conduct of Great Britain towards the { 287 } neutral powers, is marked by a Severity, that is without Example, that of France and
Spain, is distinguished by a Moderation and Liberality, that deserves to be imitated.”
Adams concluded with the caution that he had obtained many state documents from foreign
newspapers, but that the hasty translations sent to Congress might contain errors
when compared with the originals.